The right's better angel

William F. Buckley Jr.'s powerful wit and keen verbal sharpshooting won him as many critics as admirers. And his teasingly patrician, almost self-mocking intellectual style made him something of a caricature in popular culture.
But those traits helped Buckley resonate powerfully with post-World War II Americans looking for a conservative prophet who used logic and substance as weapons. He made an appealing alternative to the shrill, empty fury of the John Birch Society and others of the 1950s ultra-right.
Buckley's loyalty to conservative principles didn't always give the right the "decent image" he sought. His defense, for example, of McCarthyism was myopically Pollyanaish. But Buckley's forceful, erudite writings and public appearances eventually helped propel Ronald Reagan's conservative takeover of the White House.

Undercover intelligence agent. Author. Talk-show host. Delighted user of vexingly long and complex verbiage. Buckley's romp through American life captured the public imagination and transformed the political landscape.
Such thoughtful conservatism hasn't much been in style lately. Buckley was followed by the current generation of talk-show screamers who aggressively drive the right's political philosophy to the lowest possible level. Facts and civil, if spirited, discourse are out. Contempt and hype are in.
History will look more favorably on Buckley's way.